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[AnimeMaakuo]

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[VegettoEX]

I'm not sure how to answer the question other than, "If you like something to the point of wanting to have it on your shelf either for the purpose of watching it again, or as a showcase piece, then you should buy it."

I don't love the music in Kai. I'm apathetic toward the voice performances (no strong feelings any which way). I don't like some of the stunt casting. I don't care for the inconsistent art and re-drawn scenes. I think the pacing is thrown out-of-whack from trying to edit a show that was expanded from the source material back to something resembling said source material.

That covers the Japanese release for me. I bought the first volume to check in on the home release, superior video quality, lossless audio track, to review it, etc. I did not continue to watch the series after the first story arc, and felt no overwhelming moral/ethical urge to purchase further volumes.

In terms of an American release... the dub is nothing more than a curiosity for me, but the price brings it back into the realm of random-purchase. I still have very little interest in the product, and were it not for owning a website where I talked about it from time to time and reviewed it, I probably would only have purchased (again) just the first volume.

Kai is not something I am going to return to, and therefore unless I have extra money to toss at it for no reason other than covering it for the website, I will probably not be purchasing additional volumes past numero dos.

[LeprikanGT]

I wouldn't call it "superior" to the Dragonboxes.....but it IS Dragonball Z and IIRC, this is like a piece of history [yeah I made it sound fancy] because no other show has gotten the treatment of a re-drawing, and redub, and a rescoring like Kai has gotten.

Not sure if you watch it in English or Japan, but the Dub is the closest to the original that is ever has been and some of the redrawing does look pretty amazing. I got the Bluray version of the dub to have it in HD.

Catch it at a nice low price, and I would say it is worth it. I picked mine up on release day for only about $33.

[Mewzard]

I'd say it depends on what you want out of it. Do you only care about the Japanese version? If so, get the Dragonboxes, they're fantastic in quality. Do you want a good dub that isn't trying to alter the plot/music used in the Japanese version? Go for Z Kai.

Me? I want the best of both English and Japanese versions, so I'm buying the Dragonboxes and the Z Kai sets. It may be a tad expensive, but I'm getting the best of both worlds, so that's good for me.

And I did appreciate the review in an earlier podcast, Mike. Those that do love the dub (I like both, but lean towards dub. Ironically, watching Japanese Z through as I watch Kai dubbed prevents the originals from taking that jump ahead, lol) enjoy the occasional topic or discussion of said dub.

So, like I said, what's your preference? Or, is it both in your mind? English? Japanese? Music? Video Quality? Filler? Consistency? There are several factors to consider.

[dan2026]

I think the pacing is thrown out-of-whack from trying to edit a show that was expanded from the source material back to something resembling said source material.

And the pacing wasn't massively thrown out of whack in DBZ, to the detriment of the viewers enjoyment?
19 episodes of Goku and Freeza punching each other, with minimal plot progression, does not make a good show.

[AnimeMaakuo]

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[LeprikanGT]

I think the pacing is thrown out-of-whack from trying to edit a show that was expanded from the source material back to something resembling said source material.

And the pacing wasn't massively thrown out of whack in DBZ, to the detriment of the viewers enjoyment?
19 episodes of Goku and Freeza punching each other, with minimal plot progression, does not make a good show.

I loved that battle, SO much. It was just driven by hate [on Frieza's part] so it didn't really need much plot aside from "You need to die". So that long of a fight sort of makes sense to me; it wouldn't have been such an epic battle if Goku finally went Super Saiyan and then beat him with a few punches.

I'd say go with both versions. I've seen appeal with all 3 [well 4 versions, in csome cases 5] so I got them all for different reasons.

[VegettoEX]

I think the pacing is thrown out-of-whack from trying to edit a show that was expanded from the source material back to something resembling said source material.

And the pacing wasn't massively thrown out of whack in DBZ, to the detriment of the viewers enjoyment?
19 episodes of Goku and Freeza punching each other, with minimal plot progression, does not make a good show.

The question wasn't "What are the merits of the original anime adaptation, specifically in the Freeza arc, and what are your thoughts on purchasing it?"

I'm not making any excuses for or explanations about anything other than Kai here. If you want my thoughts on that stuff, I'm happy to offer them in a relevant thread at some point .

[AnimeMaakuo]

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[Goku100xKamehameha]

Like when?

I think you said it's not worth buying them anyway.

Anyhow, where can I find them? I'm just curious how much they all are, I most likely will not buy them, But can't find them on Yahoo Japan.

Have you try Amazon Japan?

[VegettoEX]

What are we talking about buying...? Kai...? If so, it's readily available on a plethora of Japanese and American sites. All of the products are still in-print and usually in-stock everywhere. Amazon Japan, CDJapan, Play-Asia, Amazon, RightStuf, Best Buy, Target...

[AnimeMaakuo]

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[dan2026]

The question wasn't "What are the merits of the original anime adaptation

That was exactly the question. If you read the original post.

Is Kai superior to the Dboxes or something

[AnimeMaakuo]

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[Goku100xKamehameha]

The Original Dragon Ball Z is more Official than Dragon Ball Kai right?

More official? There both official as shows and I think that there are no more than one level of official-ness.

[Innagadadavida]

Yeah it's worth buying for the dub alone. The music is pretty great too. It'll be what I suggest people who prefer dubs to move onto after they've watched Dragon Ball.

Also I'm FUNimation's bitch.

[VegettoEX]

That was exactly the question. If you read the original post.

Fair enough. I glossed over that part.

At the end of the day, my viewpoint remains the same -- personally, I find that what I consider "faults" with Kai are more than the "faults" that I find with the original Z adaptation, which themselves balance out their pros (voices, music, etc.) in comparison with the original manga. That's me, though. Other people feel differently. Rocketman would rather watch Kai than Z, and I totally understand where he's coming from. I just feel differently about (some of) the aspects that he dislikes, which is why we can both co-exist with different opinions, and not just be the same person .*

It's the kind of thing that you really can't answer for another person, though, ya' know? Sure, you can guide them with your own viewpoints and explanations of how you came about to think that way, but it's ultimately your own money! Folks like me just do the best we can with explaining things (historical background, personal preferences, etc.) so YOU can make the best decision for YOU.

If you can, just rent the darn thing (or watch a TV version, albeit censored and dubbed if that's not your thing) and see if you want to purchase it, I suppose...!

*No-one's ever seen Rocketman and VegettoEX in the same place together. Just sayin'.

[LeprikanGT]

Yeah it's worth buying for the dub alone. The music is pretty great too. It'll be what I suggest people who prefer dubs to move onto after they've watched Dragon Ball.

Also I'm FUNimation's bitch.

I'm right there with you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yOM7edjNjU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6gLCilD5lE

[dan2026]

At the end of the day, my viewpoint remains the same -- personally, I find that what I consider "faults" with Kai are more than the "faults" that I find with the original Z adaptation

That's fair, my opinion is the same only in reverse.
The pros of Kai outweigh the cons and give in my opinion a superior end product than 'z'.

[penguintruth]

The pros of Kai outweigh the cons and give in my opinion a superior end product than 'z'.

For me, the one huge pro (less filler/padding) and all the little cons (jerky pacing due to stringing together cut pieces, terrible touch ups combined with 20+ year old footage, tired voice cast, inferior music) cancel each other out.

But I'll probably be picking up some of Kai later on, regardless, mostly to support the improved English dub. Right now, though, other things have priority.